mckim



(No Model.)

G W M0 KIM WOOD SPLINT FOR MANUFACTURING BROOMS.

Patented Apr. 8, 1890. v

- I Swuewlioz 9 k D UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE WV. MOKIM, OF MARTINS FERRY, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO CHARLES E.

MCKIM, OF SAME PLACE. v

WOOD SPLINT FOR MAN U FACTU RING BROOMS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 425,044, dated April 8,1890 Application filed April 1'7, 1889- Serial No. 311,187. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. MCKIM, residing at Martins Ferry, in thecounty of Belmont and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new anduseful Improved lVood Splint for the Manufacture of Brooms, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention has for its object to produce splints, which may be madefrom any suit able wood-such as hickory, hoop or berry, ash orelm--which will form a complete substitute for broom-corn, which may bereadily handled and operated in the same manner as broom-corn, and'whichmay be manipulated and formed in such a manner by the ordinarybroom-making process that it can produce a broom which will be asubstitute for the finest corn-broom, and which will have all theelasticity of said broom, and in which the end or sweeping edge willhave an additional or frayed portion, by means of which the same may beused on the finest carpets and the like without injury thereto and tothis end my invention consists in an article formed as described in theannexed specification, and particularly pointed out in the claims,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 isa face view of one of the splints. Fig. 2 is a similar view of the loweredge thereof on an enlarged scale, and Fig. 3 is an edge View of thesame.

To more clearly describe and illustrate my invention, I will refer to myapplication, Serial No. 311,186, filed of even date herewith, whichclearly describes the process by which I form these splints, and to myapplication, Serial No. 311,185, filed of even date herewith, whichdescribes the machinery I use in the process of making the said splints.I will therefore refer to said applications in a general way in thepresent description of my in- Vention.

It is a well-known fact, so far as known, that up to the present time nobroom which has been made from wood splints could be used as asubstitute for the ordinary housebroom, and that the construction ofsuch has been chiefly confined to the street-sweeping, stable-broom, orbrushes, because in the pro duction of the wood splint great difficultyhas been found to make said splints so that they would combine theseveral elements of elasticity, pliability, and soft and yielding ends,

' so that they could be easily made and sold at a price equal or belowthe market price of ordinary brooms. It is also well known that nowooden splints have everbeen manufactured to be sold to the broom tradein such a condition that the same could be worked into the could renderit in condition whereby it could be manipulated in the same manner asbroomcorn and at a cost of about one-fifth of the said broom-corn.

In the accompanying drawings, A denotes the splint, which is formed ofwood, preferably by the machinery set forth in my other application,Serial No. 311,185. These splints are made in various sizes, usually ofthe various sizes generally found in broom-corn. The

splints, after having been cut from the billet 7 5 or block into theproper sizes, have one of their ends treated in such a manner,preferably by the process set forth in my application, Serial No.311,186, that said end receives an increased elasticity and yet becomeswaterproof-that is to say, that the action of water or dampness will notsoften said ends. This renders the lower or body portion of the splintsin condition to be easily bent when in use in the broom, therebyavoiding any extra eXertion on the part of sweeper when using the same.The outer end of the elastic portion has its grain crushed transversely,preferably by the machine before referred to, which renders the lowerend additionally flexible, go

so as to pass easily over the carpet without tearing out the fiber ofthe material. The said crushed end is frayed longitudinally, as shown atD, by any suitable means, whereby the splints when formed in a broomshape will enter between the finest fibers of the upper face of thecarpets being swept and collect therefrom the most minute particles ofdirt.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings,it will be seen 109 that by producing splints such as described a broomcan be manufactured therefrom which will answer the requirements of theordinary house-broom, and which may be used to sweep the dirt from thefinest carpets without injury thereto. They can be produced at a costmuch less than ordinary broom-corn can be raised, can be more easilyhandled, and be formed into a broom in a much cheaper and compact mannerthan from broom-corn.

I am aware that it is broadly not new to make wood splints forbroom-making or to make wood splints having one end more elastie thanthe other, and I therefore do not claim such constructed wood splints;but

What I do claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent in the UnitedStates, is

1. A wood splint for broom-making, formed of uniform breadth andthickness, one part of which is of greater elasticity than the other,the lower end of said elastic portion having its grain crushedtransversely, substantially as shown and described.

2. A wood splint for broom-making, formed of uniform breadth andthickness, one part of which is of greater elasticity than the other,the lower end of said elastic portion having its grain crushedtransversely, said crushed end being frayed longitudinally,substantially as and for the purpose specified.

A wood splint for broom-making, formed of uniform breadth and thickness,one part of which is of greater elasticity than the other, said elasticportion being water-proof, the lower end thereof having its graincrushed transversely, substantially as and for the purpose described.

at. As a new article of manufacture, the herein-described improved woodsplint for broom-makin g, consisting of the body portion A, made ofuniform breadth and thickness, one

